Archive for January, 2010

So the knee-knack has cleared up and there’s no snow in the glorious Kingdom so out I trotted this morning. After my 2 long runs the last 2 Sundays today was just a short stroll, 6 miles. It was a pleasant, sunny morning so I braved the elements in shorts and a tshirt and headed out. A typically uneventful run was had, the highlight was em well there wasn’t really a highlight but it was good to stretch my legs, 48 minutes and 30 seconds to do the run so not too shabby at all. A rest day tomorrow and then we’ll see how the snow is in Aberdeen in Tuesday.

So there I was fast asleep on the train until we neared Aberdeen, on waking up I rubbed my eyes and looked outside. I rubbed them again, surely this snow isn’t real. Am I in Narnia, or Siberia? Nope it was Aberdeen and the snow was there, bugger thought I. My knee had survived a night at 5 aside football and I had my running gear and was eager to get out running. Honestly, I was. Knowing my luck I’d slip on the pavements and fall into the North Sea and be swept away and to an isolated island in the middle of the North Sea. Maybe. So I took the safe option of sitting in my (sometimes) warm office and eat my sandwiches instead. It’s almost home time and the snow is still here, its dinged it doon now and then but hopefully this is just a passing snow shower and we wont be subjected to the type of snow we had earlier this year. I might feel slightly guilty tonight when I gorge on crisps and drink some rum. Might.

or Iliotibial band syndrome to give it its proper name is a right pain in the arse knee. Don’t worry, I didn’t know what it was either until the last few weeks. It is a very common injury in long distance runners (of which I am now one!) but its also an injury I’ve had for over 3 years now. Of course, this is a self diagnosis so I may have it completely wrong. Over to wikipedia for a description:

ITBS is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners. The iliotibial tract (iliotibial band) is a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, moving from behind the femur to the front while walking. The continual rubbing of the band over the lateral femoral epicondyle, combined with the repeated flexion and extension of the knee during running may cause the area to become inflamed.

Yeah makes a lot of sense eh?! The key thing is rest, now this isn’t exactly great when I have a marathon schedule to follow but there’s no point running through the pain or I might miss out on the marathon. I’m meant to be out for a 3 mile run today but I will instead do nothing. I’m trying to keep the knee iced as often as possible, and have invested in some voltarol cream, which I have to say seems to ease the pain a fair bit. Combined with some ibuprofen, the pain has virtually gone today. There are various stretches I can do on a daily basis to strengthen things up, one legged squats are meant to be good I just have to make sure nobody is watching!

So, total rest until Thursday when I’ll head along to the 5 aside game, if all goes well it’ll be a 3 miler on Friday followed by an easy 6 miles on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Scone. Badoom-tish! This weekend saw us visiting my parents in Scone, so strange surroundings for my Sunday run. 9 miles today, unfortunately my dad’s rubbish computer meant I soon got bored mapping my run over on mapmyrun.com and estimated the distance. I got it a bit wrong and ended up doing 9.4 miles, and I didn’t stop running once! Finish the route in 1 hour and 28 minutes, still bang on time for a 4 1/2 marathon, it all seems to be falling into place. The route itself was fairly decent, although the first 3 miles were all downhill which meant the last 3 miles were all uphill. Good for stamina training if nothing else! The middle 3 and a bit miles saw me do 3 laps round a park in Perth, nice little spot that ran alongside the River Tay. Runners in cities really are miserable sods, not one of the other runners nodded good morning back to me. Also, cyclists in Perth like to ride really slowly, I overtook two different groups of cyclists which was quite nice. Note to self, slightly long toenails and long runs do not mix well!

So my kneeknack is back, played football last night and I was unable to run about the pitch like a headless chicken for the full hour so I’ve taken a rest day today. Shins are a bit sore too, I guess running on pavements for the last four months is doing a bit of damage. I stretch before going out running, so I’ll need to properly warm up before playing football as well. I also forgot my knee support, possibly a coincidence but I’ll need to hunt it out for Sunday when I’ll dust myself down and head out for a 9 mile run. As I missed the Monday morning weigh in, I thought I’d treat myself to a Friday morning one and whaddyaknow I’ve only gone and lost a pound, 13 stone 12 now.

Another day, another run. 3 miles around the ever dull Aberdeen ‘pleasure’ beach but today it wasn’t windy! I don’t really have much more to add. I ran the 3 miles in 25 minutes and 34 seconds, not particularly great but not too bad either, considering my knee was still a bit painful after the 8 mile trek on Sunday. As if training for a marathon wasn’t enough, I’ve signed up for a half marathon. Not just any old half marathon though but one called the Heaven and Hell half marathon. It takes place in Perth in April and involves running on B roads up two hills, one 400ft climb and then a 700ft climb. It’ll be a(nother) challenge if nothing else!

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

So the snow has finally gone, hurrah! To celebrate I went out on my longest run of my training schedule so far, an 8 mile run and it went well. I’ve driven the route many, many times and haven’t noticed it to be a particularly hilly section of road (with a pavement attached), but running it is a different matter. It was all uphill on the way out, great I thought downhill running is fine. Well it turned out the wind was blowing in my face when I ran downhill, the joys! As ever, it was an uneventful run, I did get overtaken by two guys on bikes. Not a pretty sight, why do some blokes feel the need to wear lycra?? So, anyway I got the run done in 1 hour and 12 minutes, pretty good and also pretty much bang on target for me to meet my hoped for completion time of 4 1/2 hours for the marathon. Off to rest and recover for the remainder of the day.